Sometimes I Want to Go Natural So Badly

Lady Esquire

Lady Esquire

New Member
I BC'd in late 2005 and was natural for a year. My hair had NEVAAAA been that healthy. I sometimes wonder whether my hair would be in better condition today had I never returned to a relaxer (I know it would, who am I kidding?). Sigh, transitioning might be better this time around since I stretch relaxers 3-6 months on average anyway. What if this current stretch just never ends?

Who is going through this right now?

Any naturals who never BC'd?

Naturals who straighten, does your hair suffer heat damage?
 
I am debating on going natural right now too.... I am 4 months into my stretch , so I am thinking " what if I just keep going " ?
 
I have that thought in the back of my head sometimes too, but it's not strong enough. Besides, I'm not good enough at long stretches yet to be able to transition long term, which is the only option for me. No short hair for me.
OP, there is a thread for heat straightened natural support; let me see if I can find it....
 
Jazzlyric said:
I am debating on going natural right now too.... I am 4 months into my stretch , so I am thinking " what if I just keep going " ?
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Me too. I am afraid of the two textures. I am afraid that it may cause breakage. But I have the urge, you know?
 
Would texlaxing be another alternative? My hair is much healthier now that I'm texlaxed. The first pic in my siggy is me relaxing bone straight and the second is me texlaxed.
 
Lady Esquire said:
Me too. I am afraid of the two textures. I am afraid that it may cause breakage. But I have the urge, you know?
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Yes, I hear you on the breakage , but I do think at some point it does get easier. I could be wrong ??I am interested to know what month(s) into a transition were the hardest for people who have done it ... I havent come across that info on the boards , maybe I missed it .
 
I did not have unhealthy hair, but 5 months ago i was thinking the same as you, i was natural back in 2005 and i wanted to be natural again, so ... like 1 month post, i bc xD

If you want to, and you know your hair will appreciate it, just do it!!
 
I am not natural--YET, but I started out doing a long term stretch (inspired by Sylver2) and then just said "what the heck" and decided to transition. I am almost 8 months post and have managed to do it wearing my hair straight. So far it has not been as difficult as I originally thought it would be, but I don't know what the future months will bring. So far I've been pretty much doing the same I had been doing in the past, and it has worked. I wash/rollerset/flat iron every couple of weeks and DC as needed. I did my first hard protein treatment over the weekend because I had some breakage/shedding and it seems to have helped. I expect to start doing those once a month from now on to keep the hair strong at the line of demarcation. I expect to do a couple of mini big chops along the way and want to be 100% natural by March 2012. The long term transitioners thread has been invaluable in this journey.

Good luck!

By the way, how can I enter a link to my post??
 
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I can answer the first question. I grew my relaxer out with weaves.

At this time I don't press my hair much I did it once last year. Others may chime in for this one.

Whatever you decide I hope you are successful. Don't beat yourself up about your hair and it being relaxed. There are some folks no matter how well they take care of their hair they just can't handle relaxers. I was one of those folks chemicals including even hair dye just does not work for me.

I am sure if I worked on the press and curl I would be able to master that but for now I am okay wearing it in natural protective styles, but it took a minute to get here. The first 4 years of real hair care journey I did more protective styles than anything else.

This year I am challenging myself to only wear protective styles with just my own hair. I am very satisfied.
 
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onejamifan said:
I am not natural--YET, but I started out doing a long term stretch (inspired by Sylver2) and then just said "what the heck" and decided to transition. I am almost 8 months post and have managed to do it wearing my hair straight. So far it has not been as difficult as I originally thought it would be, but I don't know what the future months will bring. So far I've been pretty much doing the same I had been doing in the past, and it has worked. I wash/rollerset/flat iron every couple of weeks and DC as needed. I did my first hard protein treatment over the weekend because I had some breakage/shedding and it seems to have helped. I expect to start doing those once a month from now on to keep the hair strong at the line of demarcation. I expect to do a couple of mini big chops along the way and want to be 100% natural by March 2012. The long term transitioners thread has been invaluable in this journey.

Good luck!

By the way, how can I enter a link to my post??
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Thank you. Your hair is lovely. I will start off with a long stretch, longer than I normally go. I would probably do mini chops along the way too. I am no where near making a decision, but I think about it often. I have been texlaxed forever now and always thought it was the best of both worlds. But alas, the thought of being natural has never left.

Copy the link and paste it to your post. You can leave this page open, and simultaneously open another browser, if you don't want to go back and forth.
 
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I'm natural now, but I'm actually transitioning in a way - from my heat trained hair, to my non-heat trained hair. I need to take a picture to show you the difference, but there is a clear difference.

So I don't call it heat DAMAGE, because I still have curls, but they are much more loose than my non-heat trained hair that had been pressed and flat ironed muliplie times.
 
going through the same thing myself. The issues I had with my natural hair was my impatience with it being short and my realization that I really don't like short hair, or afros. While it was between 4-6 inches I had to keep it in twists, but my hair would be too soft and start looking fuzzy after 2-3 days and I'd either have to retwist or do a twist out & tie back with a scarf.

Other HUGE issue - single strand knots. I'd always have my hands in my hair and my shears at the ready.

Right now I'm 5 weeks post. I'm saying I'm going to take it day by day - no pressure either way. But my stylist is transitioning me into another product so I won't be going back until after I've got 3" new growth.

we'll see.

No I will not do a another BC.
 
I'm transitioning...7 months post and don't plan to BC.I use heat every week on wash day and so far no damage! Last month I didn't use heat at all and I had a set back. Broken hairs everywhere. MY hair just can't handle it.Straightening helps me navigate between the two diff. textures. Heat isn't the devil when used properly.Pinkskates gives alot of helpful info when it comes to being a straight natural. Experiment w/ your hair and see what works for you.HTH
 
supermodelsonya said:
Would texlaxing be another alternative? My hair is much healthier now that I'm texlaxed. The first pic in my siggy is me relaxing bone straight and the second is me texlaxed.
Click to expand...


Girl i look foward to seeing your siggy in threads...lol. inspires me every time!!!:yep:
 
:hiya:

I've been transitioning for a little over a year and I will be doing so for at least another 6 months... I'm aiming for another year (Time will tell).

There is a lot of info here on transitioners who use heat, those who don't (like myself), those who wear weaves/extensions, etc.

Check out the transitioner threads e.g. http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=419744

Good luck whatever decision you make :grin:
 
Eclass215 said:
I'm natural now, but I'm actually transitioning in a way - from my heat trained hair, to my non-heat trained hair. I need to take a picture to show you the difference, but there is a clear difference.

So I don't call it heat DAMAGE, because I still have curls, but they are much more loose than my non-heat trained hair that had been pressed and flat ironed muliplie times.
Click to expand...

I am going through the same "transition." I have been natural for about 8 years, but flatironed the heck out of my hair up until about a year ago, and rarely flat iron nowadays.

And there is a clear difference. Like you, I still have curls but looser. I'm finding that my "new growth" looks and FEELS so much better, less frizziness too.
 
Hey, Lady Esquire! :wave:

I transitioned for 18 months and my transition was going along smoothly, until I hit months approx. 15-17. At that point, it got to be REAL challenging. The difference between the two textures was brutal for me because my hair is fine. On top of that, I was manipulating it way too much by detangling it too many times during the week when I co-washed. Even though I tried to mitigate the situation with protein treatments as needed, I still suffered some major breakage due to overmanipulation, so be sure not to fall into the same trap I did.

Jazzlyric said:
Yes, I hear you on the breakage , but I do think at some point it does get easier. I could be wrong ??I am interested to know what month(s) into a transition were the hardest for people who have done it ... I havent come across that info on the boards , maybe I missed it .
Click to expand...

There are several threads that have been created regarding which months were the hardest for transitioners. I remember two of these threads in particular; perhaps they will help you out:

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=418600&highlight=months+hardest+transition

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=304771&highlight=months+hardest+transition

Good luck with whatever you decide! :grin:
 
onejamifan said:
By the way, how can I enter a link to my post??
Click to expand...

When you press post reply there is a icon on the toolbar that looks like a globe, press that, paste the url in, and when you do that your link will show up in your post. If you want to change the name of the link, there will be a portion that is highlighted so that you can change what it says, you can write click here or something or write the name of the thread or page you are linking.

You can also just copy & paste a url.
 
OP, I went natural (13 month transition) in mid-2008, (BC'd in June 08). My hair had been healthy much of my relaxed life, but I just wanted to experience my natural hair, and I wanted to be done with the loathesome task of applying a relaxer, even if it was only every 3-4 mos. I was natural for about 5 mos, then decided to texlax to make my hair smoother (super curly). Also, the texlax was for convenience since I had a newborn at home...didn't have the time or energy to deal with my natural hair!

Now I'm transitioning back to natural, this time sans BC. I felt the same way you do when I wore a bone straight relaxer...I'd made many attempts at going natural (about 3 or 4) and stretched up to 5 mos before I would break down and touch-up. Finally, when I was preggs w/my daughter, it was the chance to finally do it. I was so excited when I BC'd (actually did so in my L&D suite's bathroom before my spontaneous C-section a few days later)! I don't regret texlaxing a few months after cuz it was for convenience, but now I have the time to devote to staying natural. Just wanted to say, I've been there and I understand how you feel!
 
me! I have tried to transition about 5 times now. I am even embarrassed to type it. I think of what you are talking about all the time. I am currently 11 weeks post. I figure if I can hold out until my b-day (April 30th), then I will be 27 weeks post with 3 inches of natural hair!

So I am just keeping my hair braided and wearing half wigs. I'm just going to coast through with the weave. My natural hair is coily, soft and so thick! I know it would be amazing all natural. I could rock all different kinds of styles and really enjoy my hair. If I can make it to my birthday, I know I can go all the way!!!

We'll see how long I stick with this plan but it sounds good right now.
 
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I'm transitioning as we speak - hoping to make it to 18mths - sometime in May before I BC. It can be frustrating at times but then I start reading the boards and seeing gorgeous heads of natural hair and then I see my end result. That's what keep me motivated - the end results.

The territory comes with shedding/breakage - but I manage. I haven't used heat in over 1.5 yrs. and I keep my hair bunned 99% of the time. I have just started trying my hand at twist outs and roller sets.

I can't wait to get rid of the relaxed ends. I think if the weather was warmer now, I would BC and keep it moving.

I'm looking forward to Spring.
 
i "kept going"...my last relaxer was in winter 2006, but i kept flat ironing until Jan 2008...i had a lot of heat damage, but the areas that were natural were so cute that i decided to cut off the straight hair and go "all the way natural" in march 2008....

im indecisive, so this path was good for me - taught me some tough lessons, but i learned :)
 
Lady Esquire said:
I BC'd in late 2005 and was natural for a year. My hair had NEVAAAA been that healthy. I sometimes wonder whether my hair would be in better condition today had I never returned to a relaxer (I know it would, who am I kidding?).
Click to expand...
You sound EXACTLY like me back when I was making my decision to transition...I KNEW my hair would be healthier and stronger:yep:

Sigh, transitioning might be better this time around since I stretch relaxers 3-6 months on average anyway. What if this current stretch just never ends?

Who is going through this right now?

Any naturals who never BC'd?
Click to expand...
ME!:grin: I just let my hair grow and grow and straightened throughout the two year transition because it was the first and only style I knew, and because my hair was so much stronger now that the natural hair was replacing the relaxed, I was straightening with every wash and still retaining length.

Naturals who straighten, does your hair suffer heat damage?
Click to expand...
For me I experienced curl pattern loosening in the bottom half of my strands...but they're all in tact and strong so...I dont think of them as heat damaged. I think this works out for me because I have thick coarse strands that can seriously handle alot.

For me going natural made my hair low-maintenence and really resilient, its never been longer and I have a very wide array of styles available to me so its a great time.
 
Me. I transitioned without BCing, but I'll be honest, I had less than SL length hair so the situation's different.

What was the turning point that makes you feel you should go natural? What made you return to relaxers, and would you be able to overcome that this go around?

I wore braids for a while and began twist outs afterwards, & now weaves which are helping a lot. I honestly think if you are thinking about it seriously, go for it. It's going to take work and time, but you're well versed in care so you can do it.

I'm behind you 100% (if that counts for anything). Only YOU know your hair and if you feel it's becoming worse, by all means, do something now before it's too late.

I snipped off little by little as the months and years went by; it didn't matter much to me, because I was going into a protective style. My May/June 08, I'd cut it all off.

I do get some heat damage, but i dont care. I have fine hair anyway but it reverts back after a couple washes. A twistout/braidout and you can't even tell where is heat damaged. It doesn't look 'damaged' per se either, just that it stays 'more straight' than the majority of my hair. Not a dealbreaker.

Overall, the versatility is something I can't trade for anything.
 
I felt this way when i found the forum in Mar.08' and i decided to be a texlaxer. That lasted for almost a year w/ 2-3 applications total.

By the end of 09' i had only texlaxed once with oils and conditioner mixed in the relaxer. I only left each app. since Mar.08' on for a total of 5-7 min. (so this didn't change my curl pattern much at all.

This allowed me to see i could very much so go natural and handle it. It doesn't always feel that way but still a lil' more almost every day i'm glad i did.

I was natural til' after the age of 13 anyway.I am now 33.
 
Some people say that transitioning by doing a BKT has helped them do long stretches. I don't know that much about BKT so I would have to let others chime in. Its a thought anyway.

I transitioned, it sucked, I hated every moment and I don't regret my decision. Best thing I ever did for my hair!

Naturals who straighten, does your hair suffer heat damage?
Click to expand...

Not at all. I am extremely careful though because I don't want to lose my curl pattern or have a setback. I have been straightening my natural hair since October 2007 and my hair is thriving. Right now my hair is straight (rollerset) and if you saw me on the street you'd think I had a relaxer. Till it rains, that is LOL

I say go for it. I tried transitioning for years, but the only reason why I was able to successfully transition in 2007 is because I had the support of a forum.
 
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